** Inaugural Issue **

Contents:

1) Introduction

2) Windows WGA - It's doesn't mean Wild Gorilla Army

3) Your Backup Plan

4) Microsoft Ends Support For Windows98 and Windows XP SP1

5) My Recommended Software

6) The Lighter Side Of Life

7) A Little Help Here Please

1) Introduction

Hello. Thank you for reading the inaugural issue of Dave's Computer Tips. You might guess my name is Dave, and you would be right. I live in the Indianapolis, Indiana area of the United States with my lovely wife, Melissa.

My interest in computers began in 1982 when my school bought several Apple II computers. My math teacher allowed me to use it during lunch hours, which is what I did. I was hooked. I digested everything I could find that had "Computer" in the subject. I took several classes where I learned to write programs in Basic and Turbo Pascal. My parents bought me a TI-99 home computer and what had been a daily lunch hour ritual became an obsession. I spent many hours writing games, programs and anything else I could think of in my 14 year old brain. What followed were years (only 4, I promise) of high school where I took more computer classes and discovered electronics.

After high school I decided to attend a technical school where I studied electronics. Life has a way of leading you down paths that are different than you plan. After school I began work in television. I used computers everyday, but the TI-99 and Apple II had fallen out of favor. Everything was mainframe based or DOS. Oh how I hated DOS! From 1989 to about 1993 I only touched a computer if I had to. Then I discovered Windows 3.1, which presented a much better user experience than DOS. I was interested. I began to explore.

Windows95 was released in late 1995. I was hooked again! The strides made in computer design are unimaginable. I'm still amazed everyday by the technological advances. Where would we be without computers?

I'm always asked by friends for computer related advice. I began thinking about a way to share with more than one person at a time, in hopes others could learn a little also. Computers aren't the scary little boxes that most people think. A newsletter seemed to be the best solution, so here we are!

2) Windows WGA

When Microsoft introduced Windows 95 they also introduced the License Key. A license key is similar to your house key. You had to have the license key to unlock the software. Windows came with a 20 digit license key that had to be entered before the software could be used. Life was good and Microsoft made billions, but they knew that license keys were shared. This piracy was keeping much needed (sarcasm) money out of Microsoft's pocket.

To combat piracy Microsoft released Windows 98 with a more complicated license key of 25 digits. Enter the license key or don't use the software. This scheme continued with Windows 98SE, Windows ME, and Windows 2000. Life was good and Microsoft made billions, but they were aware that piracy was still an issue.

With the release of Windows XP Microsoft continued with the 25 digit license key, but added another step. You had to enter the license key, then you had to "activate" your copy of Windows. You could do this over the internet or by phone. Users weren't happy, but they accepted the new requirement. Life was good and Microsoft made billions, but piracy was still on the minds of those in Redmond.

Enter WGA. Windows Genuine Advantage is a Microsoft program to continually check the validity of your copy of Windows.

Microsoft offers updates via Windows Update on the second Tuesday of every month. Updates are divided into Critical, Recommended, and Hardware. Critical updates are very important and usually fix a vulnerability inside Windows that could allow your computer to be attacked. Recommended updates are generally for features they have improved. Hardware updates are updates to the drivers for hardware attached to your computer. Critical updates are occasionally downloaded automatically to your computer via Automatic Updates. If you've updated your computer lately you've installed WGA.

What's so bad about WGA?

1. When most users visit Windows Update to update their computer they only view the title of the download. Microsoft will display something to the effect of "Windows Genuine Advantage - KB90101", which it not very descriptive at all!

2. Windows Update had the ability to find beta software (software not yet ready to be released to the public) which is available for your computer. This is turned OFF by default, and takes some doing to turn on. Beta software is NOT finished, doesn't always function completely, isn't tested completely, may cause harm to your computer, and isn't supported by Microsoft. When Microsoft released WGA it was beta software, which shouldn't be used on most users computers!

3. WGA was listed as a Critical Update. As described above, critical updates are intended for updates that affect the security of Windows. Most users have Automatic Updates turned on. If you do, WGA was installed without your knowledge. If you ran Windows Update manually you will notice that critical updates are automatically selected by default. Thus WGA was selected by default. Microsoft installed beta software on your computer!

4. Once WGA is installed Microsoft changes it's tactics. Each time Windows Update is ran it checks the software on your computer, which is required to make Windows Update function, for the latest version. It even tells you that "To use this latest version of Windows Update, you will need to upgrade some of its components". The problem here is that Microsoft is now checking that you have the latest version of WGA installed. WGA has nothing to do with Windows Update. It's not required for Windows Update to work. In fact the only relationship they have is Microsoft used Windows Update to push this to your computer.

5. WGA contains a "phone home" component. When WGA was initially installed on your computer it contacted a server at Microsoft every time you booted. Every piece of software you install has a EULA, or End User License Agreement. When you install software and that window opens with all the legal text (that no one has the time to read or the legalese to understand) you are looking at the EULA. Most people don't bother reading it and click accept. Microsoft did not mention this phone home behavior in its EULA, news releases, or anywhere else. During this communication with Microsoft a configuration file was sent. Microsoft analyzed this file and determined if your copy of Windows was genuine or not. Every time you booted your computer a file was being sent to Microsoft without your knowledge or approval. Microsoft says they have removed this "feature", but are we to believe them?

6. If Microsoft, through its use of WGA, finds your copy of Windows is not genuine, WGA triggers a notification window. This window pops up in the center of the screen and warns you that your copy of Windows is not genuine. You have two options: Get Genuine or Resolve Later. Get Genuine starts a process where you have to buy a copy of Windows. Resolve Later removes the popup, but adds a banner to your desktop that says "This copy of Windows is not genuine". Not so bad you think for someone who stole software. The problem is that there are reports of up to 20% false positives. Yes, you have up to a 1 in 5 chance of getting a popup calling you a thief for using software you purchased! Imagine you are presenting a very important presentation to a client when this happens!

Users have reported various responses from Microsoft when trying to resolve this issue from "You're out of luck, buy a new copy" to "We are sorry and will fix it". Microsoft has the final say, and you have no recourse other than to pursue a legal remedy.

It doesn't stop there! Technically Microsoft may have the ability to shut off your copy of Windows. That would be a nice experience to have on an important business trip. The "phone home" component as well as the ability to control your software sounds like spyware to me.

From Wikipedia:

The term spyware refers to a broad category of malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer's operation without the informed consent of that machine's owner or legitimate user. While the term taken literally suggests software that surreptitiously monitors the user, it has come to refer more broadly to software that subverts the computer's operation for the benefit of a third party.

I don't know where this will go in the future, only Microsoft has the answers. With the hidden functions and 20% false positives it is important to be aware of how this was installed and what its function truly is. I do know this is a hot topic in the computer world and something we all need to watch. Can anyone show me what the "Advantage" of Windows Genuine Advantage is?

If you have had a copy of Windows declared "Not Genuine" please contact me and share your experience.

3). Your Backup Plan

"You can never have enough backups!" I tell this to everyone who will listen. Stuff happens and things break. Computers are not immune. I currently have 115 programs installed on my computer. I'm sure this is a much larger number than most normal users, but it may not be. If I were to have a hardware failure it would take me days to return my computer to its present state. Windows takes about an hour to install, Office another hour, plus all the other software, settings, and personalization's. Time better spent doing something else, like writing a newsletter!

Programs and settings are not the only things on your computer, or mine. Pictures, tax forms, personal letters and other non replaceable files are everywhere! These files are priceless and irreplaceable. You can't recreate the picture of little Johnny jumping into a pool for the first time when he was 4 and telling the IRS you don't have your tax paperwork during an audit won't fly either!

Windows XP has the restore function. That should handle it, shouldn't it? NO! Windows restore is a quick fix at best and a very poor choice for backup purposes at best. I would only resort to Windows restore to undo the installation of a program that went bad. Restore isn't designed to be a true backup solution. Below I'll tell you my solution, and why it works.

Disk Imaging vs. file based backups: A disk image is a computer file containing the complete contents and structure of a data storage medium or device. A file backup is just that, a copy of the file. To restore your computer from an image you boot with a special CD created when you install the program. Then you tell the software where the image is and 30 minutes later your computer is exactly like it was when you made the image. All files, pictures, desktop backgrounds, and even system settings are there and you are back in business. To restore a file based backup you must first install Windows, then install every program, and finally copy each file back to your computer. This will take hours, possibly days, and you will lose many of your settings. Both are important, but Disk Imaging should be the main player in your backup plan.

There are currently two major players in the imaging game: Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost. Of the two, I use and recommend Acronis True Image. Both function very similarly to each other, but I feel Acronis has the functional edge over Norton at this time.

Dave's Solution

Whether you have a desktop or laptop, I strongly encourage you to buy an external USB hard drive. This external drive serves as your main line of defense. Partition (telling the computer to split) the drive into two partitions, one 30 to 40GB and the other as the remainder of the drive. This first 40GB partition is where you will save all of your software installation files as a backup to the installation CDs you currently have. By coping all of your installation files to this partition before installing them, you now have a central location to find your installation files if you need to reinstall. No more looking for that CD you haven't seen in a year! Software generally installs quicker from a hard drive than a CD also. The second partition becomes the one location you will store images created with Acronis.

Now we have our backup media ready to go. Create an image of your primary drive using Acronis. Store this on the newly created partition on the second hard drive. Name it something to the affect of "Clean Install" to remind you that this is your base image. You should never delete this image. You can restore your computer to the state it is in right now from this image. Keep this image. Should you ever have to start over this will save you lots of time. Now every other day, or at least weekly, make a new complete image of your primary drive. At least once a month copy your latest image to DVD's or another hard drive. An important note is that you should unplug the external hard drive from both the computer and AC outlet and store it in a safe place. If your house is struck by lightning or your computer is stolen, you will still have a usable copy of your important files.

I also use a free program from Microsoft named Synctoy. Using Synctoy you can easily keep an up to date copy of your My Documents folder on the second hard drive. When you first run Synctoy you set up a left folder and a right folder. You then can choose to have Synctoy compare the contents of each folder and copy any changes made in the left folder to the right folder. You don't have to remember what files are new, old or changed. Keeping this second copy of My Documents means if you make a mistake and delete a file, or alter a file by accident you can access your second folder and your file is still there! Big life saver!

The final step is to burn the contents of your My Documents folder to CD or DVD once a month. You're probably thinking you've just done this. The key to this step is once you've burnt the CDs or DVD's you take them to work, or another safe place. Put them in a desk drawer, a locker or other space you have at work. If something terrible should happen to your home you're covered. Remember you can't replace those files!

This is a very solid plan, and one that will serve you well. You never know how important a good backup is until you need it! My personal plan is similar to above, but I add a second hard drive, internally, to my desktop computer. I make my images directly to this drive, which can be done over a home network if you have more than one computer. I then copy the image to my external drive. This offers me several advantages including: I can schedule Acronis to automatically create the images, I always have a close-at-hand image, and I always have at least two copies of each image.

From the Acronis website:

Acronis True Image 9.0 Home makes restoring your system even faster with the exclusive new Acronis Snap Restore feature. It also provides several additional enhancements.

NEW! DVD Burning — Save backups directly to DVD's without using 3rd party DVD burning software.

Exclusive Acronis Snap Restore — Lightning-speed restore of your PC from an image. You can start working in seconds while your system is still being restored.

Exclude files — Save space when creating backups by only backing up the types of files you want to keep.

Differential backup — Decrease the number of backups you manage. Differential backups capture the changes made since your last full backup.

Expanded Acronis Drive Snapshot technology — We've expanded the no reboot feature to include backing up specific files and folders. We can even backup system files and open files with no issues. No matter which option you select, you can continue to use your PC during backup.

Windows System Restore management wizard — If you run Acronis True Image 9.0 Home regularly this feature in your operating system is redundant. Free up to 10% of your hard disk drive by disabling this default feature in your operating system using Acronis True Image 9.0 Home software.

Scheduler — Automate backups, so you don't need to remember to run them.

Exclusive Acronis Secure Zone — No need to purchase an extra hard drive, CDs, or DVD's to protect data because you can save data to a special hidden partition on your hard drive.

Exclusive Acronis Recovery Manager — Boot your computer to start the recovery process without boot media by selecting the F11 key, even if your operating system has failed.

PC cloning — Upgrade to a new system disk without the need to reinstall the operating system and applications, or configure user settings.

Add new hard disk — Expand your PC's storage capacity A wizard driven interface — The product walks you through each task so that you don't need to be a computer wiz to use it.

A wizard driven interface — The product walks you through each task so that you don't need to be a computer wiz to use it.

CLICK HERE to download the trial version of Acronis True Image